Changeable sign.



' j A. HOLDER. I

' CHANGEABLE SIGN. I

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 21, 917- I 1,246,600. y Patented Nov. 13, 1917mvron WITNESSES I A UOBUEYS ALBERT HOLDER, 0]? LOS ANGELES. CALIFORNIA.

CHANGEABLE SIGN.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 13, 1917.

' Application filed January 27, 1917. Serial No. 144,844.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALBERT HOLDER, a citizen of the United States, and aresident of Los Angeles, in the county of Los Angeles and State ofCalifornia, have invented a new and Improved Changeable Sign, of whichthe following is a full, clear, and ex act description.

This invention relates to signs of that type having individual letterswhich can be arranged in va ious combinations for producing a sign.

The invention has for its general objects to provide a novel form ofletter unit and background on which the units are removably mounted,whereby the sign can be changed from time to time as required.

A more specific object of the invention is the provision of a changeablesign having simple, novel and effective means for locking the letterunits in place.

With such objects in view, and others which will appear as thedescription proceeds, the invention comprises various novel features ofconstruction and arrangement of parts which will be set forth .withparticularity in the following description and claims appended hereto.

In the accompanying drawing which illustratcs one embodiment of theinvention and wherein similar characters of reference indicatecorresponding parts in both the views,

Figure 1 is a a sign; and

Fig. 2 is a vertical section onthe line 22, Fig. 1.

Referringto the drawing, 1 designates the sign letters or removableunits which are independent of each other and are adapted to be mountedin a frame A. Each letter unit is made of any desired material and hasextending upwardly from its top a central lug 2 which is bent backwardlyand downwardly to form the bill 3 of a hook, whereby the letter unitscan be mounted on the frame A. The lugs 2 are in the same plane with theback face of the letter units so as to bear flat against the backgroundor panel plate 4 of the frame A. This panel or board 4 has a horizontalgroove or slot 5 which inclines downwardly from the front face 6 of thebackground 4, so that the hooks of the letter units can be engaged inthe slot or groove to thereby support the letter units. The members 3front view of a portion of are of considerable extent in a horizontaldirection, so that a wide bearing surface in the slot 5 will bemaintained, whereby each letter will be suspended from the top and willnot have any chalice to swing laterally.

To more effectively hold the letter units on the background, a lockingstrip or plate 7 is provided on the frame A at a point above the letterunits, this locking strip being of such length as to engage over thefront of the lugs 2 of a plurality of letter units, and it is connectedat its upper edge to the cap-piece 8 of the sign body A by hinges 9. Theholding or locking strip 7 thus hangs by gravity with its lower marginal portion engaged with the lugs 2, so that it is impossible for'theletter units to become detached from the sign body without the lockingstrip 7 being first swung upwardly and the letter units lifted upwardlyand forwardly, as shown by the dotted lines in Fig. 2. While the letterunits are assembled, the locking member 7 is held raised so as to be outof the way and to uncover the slot 5. When the locking plate is innormal position, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, it covers the slot 5 andalso the lugs 2, so that the sign has the appearance of fixed letterunits permanently fastened to the background of the sign, since theparticular fastening means will be concealed. lf desired, the lockingstrip 7 can be clamped by suitable means, such as a screw 10 swiveled inthe strip 7 and having a threaded engagement with a socket 11 in thebackground.

Fromthe foregoing description taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawing, the advantages of the construction and method of operation willbe readily understood by those skilled in the art to which the inventionappertains, and while I have described the principle of operation,together with the device which I now consider to be the best embodimentthereof, I desire to have it understoodthat the device shown is merelyillustrative and that such changes may be made when desired as fallwithin the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent:

1. The combination of a sign background having a longitudinal slot, signcharacter units each having a hook at its top to engage in the slot, anda locking element exing with the lugs and covering the said slot toretain the tending longitudinally of the sign at a point over thecharacter units and engaging and covering the hooks and covering theslot for locking the character units on the background. W

2. The combination of a sign background having a horizontal sl'otinclinal downwardly from the front face, a plurality of sign characterunits bearing on the bac ground at a point under the slot,upwardlyextending lugs on the units and having downwardly and rearwardlybent extremities engaged in the slot for supporting the units, and astrip hinged at its top edge on the background and having its lowermarginal portion extending over and contactunits in place.

clamping the said element naeaeoo downwardly and rearwardly bentextremipoint under the slot, upwardly ties engaged in the slot forsupporting the units, 'a strip hinged at its top edge on the backgroundand having its lower marginal portion extending over and contact-' ingwith the lugs and covering the said slot to retain the units in place,and means for with respect to the background to hold the element againstmovement.

ALBERT HOLDER.

